House of War and Witness

1740. With the whole of Europe balanced on the brink of war, an Austrian regiment is sent to the farthest frontier of the empire to hold the border against the might of Prussia. Their garrison, the ancient house called Pokoj. But Pokoj is already inhabited... by a company of ghosts from every age of the house's history. Only Drozde, the quartermaster's mistress, can see them, and terrifyingly they welcome her as a friend. As these ageless phantoms tell their stories, Drozde gets chilling glimpses not just of Pokoj's past but of a looming menace in its future. Meanwhile, the humourless lieutenant Klaes pursues another mystery. Why are the people of the neighbouring village so surly and withdrawn, so reluctant to welcome the soldiers who are there to protect them? What are they hiding? And what happened to the local militia unit that was stationed at Pokoj before the regiment arrived?

From Publishers Weekly

In 1740, a company of Austrian soldiers arrives at Narutsin, a village on the Prussian border. Lodged in Pokoj, a ramshackle ruin of a house, they discover that the previous garrison has vanished and the villagers are strangely unwelcoming to their protectors. While Lieutenant Klaes attempts to ferret out the facts behind the locals' hostility, Drozde, the quartermaster's mistress, discovers that Pokoj teems with ghosts, "unhoused creatures, delivered out of time in a second birth that was more painful than the first." Untethered to linear time, these talkative wraiths are maddeningly obscure in their intimations of a horrific incident on the horizon that threatens the lives of everyone in the town. The Careys (The Steel Seraglio) have constructed a fantastical ghost story and a suspenseful military mystery. The novel's true strength lies in its characters. Klaes is more hapless than heroic, but his humanity shines through, particularly when he's faced with his superior's murderous rage. Drozde, the true beating heart of the novel, is a fierce survivor, resourceful and independent in a world that values neither quality in a woman. As the pair strives to solve a puzzle straddling the real and the supernatural, the Careys deliver a daringly original fantasy novel. Agent: Meg Davis, Ki Agency. (Feb.)\n

Publishers Weekly

“The Careys nest smaller tales within the larger story and often jump around in time; it’s a good approach, backed by fast pacing and great characters . . . [The Steel Seraglio is] a thrilling tale.”

Locus

“The Steel Seraglio brings its alternate world of struggle, politics and magic very much to life, transcending the more labored construct of symbol and metaphor in a fairy tale or fable retold only to make some kind of point.”

Slant Magazine

“With remarkable elegance, the Careys have enriched meta-fictional allegory into furious pop entertainment―full of sex, passion, violence, and magic. The Steel Seraglio is razor-sharp, cutting straight through the bullshit of bigotry to tell a fun, resonant story.”

Neon Magazine

“The Steel Seraglio is not a work of feminist or utopian theory. Nor is it a historical fantasy, a romance, a thriller, a poem, an allegory, or an epic. Rather, somehow, it is all of these things, mixed with a handful of gnomic utterances, a generous splash of the comic, and permeated by a deep understanding of what it means to weave a fairytale through with vision, to tell stories as a way of making meaning and making change, and to let those stories hang and fall. . . .”

SF Revu

“The Steel Seraglio is a masterful, engaging and utterly fascinating story by three wonderful writers. One can only hope they will collaborate again, as this project has proven how well they work together. The reader is really the winner here.”

About the Author

Linda, Louise, and Mike Carey are three writers living in North London. Sometimes they write together, sometimes alone.Louise wrote THE DIARY OF A LONDON SCHOOL GIRL for the website of the London Metropolitan Archive. She also co-wrote the graphic novel CONFESSIONS OF A BLABBERMOUTH with Mike.Linda, writing as A.J. Lake, authored the Darkest Age fantasy trilogy. She has also written for TV, most notably for the German fantasy animation series MEADOWLANDS.Mike has written extensively in the comics field, where his credits include LUCIFER, HELLBLAZER, X-MEN, and THE UNWRITTEN (nominated for both the Eisner and Hugo Awards). He is also the author of the Felix Castor novels, and of the X-Men Destiny console game for Activision, and as M.R. Carey he is the author of the novel THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS. He is currently writing a movie screenplay, SILENT WAR for Slingshot Studios and Intrepid Pictures.They share their crowded house with two other writers/artists, a cat, and several stick insects.

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